South Plantation's girl quarterback wins $20,000 scholarship

Amy Beth Bennett, Sun Sentinel

South Plantation High School quarterback Erin DiMeglio is surprised with a $20,000 scholarship from Foot Locker on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, at the school. Quarterback John Franklin, left, and running back Alex Collins, hold the check. Click here to see video of her getting surprised with her scholarship.

South Plantation High School quarterback Erin DiMeglio is surprised with a $20,000 scholarship from Foot Locker on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, at the school. Quarterback John Franklin, left, and running back Alex Collins, hold the check. Click here to see video of her getting surprised with her scholarship. (Amy Beth Bennett, Sun Sentinel)

As Erin DiMeglio walked through the auditorium door, she had no idea what to make of the scene before her.

Some of her classmates showered the South Plantation senior with Monopoly money, while two of her football teammates —- FSU-bound quarterback John Franklin and Arkansas-commit running back Alex Collins — held a homemade, ceremonial check for $20,000.

Once DiMeglio read the check and realized she was the recipient of a scholarship from Foot Locker's Scholar Athlete Program and DoSomething.org, the third-string quarterback had a hard time wiping the smile off her face.

DiMeglio, who made Florida history last fall when she became the first girl to play quarterback in a varsity football game, is one of 20 nationwide recipients of the award from the athletic company, which received more than 25,900 applicants for the scholarship.

"I was speechless. I had no idea what was going on," DiMeglio said. "I didn't read the paper at first. I just wanted to know why all these people were staring at me. It's exciting to win this, to know that someone picked you out of all those people. It's really going to help out my parents."

In August, DiMeglio made national headlines when she took two snaps in South Plantation's 31-14 season-opening win over Nova. Three weeks later, she made history again when she completed her first pass in a win against Piper.

On Wednesday, some of her biggest supporters, including her parents, were on hand to help DiMeglio celebrate her accomplishments. And Collins and Franklin, both of whom earned scholarships of their own to play college football, were honored to share in the moment.

"Girls can do anything we can do," said Franklin, who signed with Florida State in February. "Hard work trumps any gender. She went through everything we went through. Everything we had to do, she had to do and she did."

Added Collins: "Her hard work paid off. Even before she played football, when she was playing flag football, you could see her mindset was always to help her teammates and win."

After her seven month-stint on the football team, DiMeglio, who was also voted the school's homecoming queen, returned to her primary sport, basketball. She's currently the quarterback for the school's flag football team, and was recently voted "Most Athletic" in South Plantation's senior class.

The scholarship isn't the only recognition DiMeglio has received recently. In March, as part of Women's History Month, she made it into the Congressional Record after being mentioned in a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives by U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach.

Her story made national headlines and she also earned attention from basketball coaches at several smaller schools. Eventually, though, she made the decision to attend the University of Central Florida, without an athletic scholarship. Instead, she hopes to earn a spot on the basketball team as a walk-on.

Now, she'll get to do that with a little extra money, and continued support from the South Plantation community.

"Everyone here has been so welcoming and accepting of her," said Kathleen DiMeglio, Erin's mother. "It's amazing. I was a person who paid for every ounce of my college education. This makes it easier for her. The scholarship is from DoSomething.org, and if she continues to do something, if she attacks everything with the same determination and drive she showed to play football with the boys, I feel confident in how she's going to enter adulthood. Not a lot of girls would have that kind of determination and courage."